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Asterisk vs HOMER

A side-by-side editorial comparison of Asterisk and HOMER — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Asterisk vs HOMER: at a glance

FeatureAsteriskHOMER
SectorMeetingsMeetings
Velocity score5.05.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesmajor release, multi-branch releases, backport discipline, telephony corevoip monitoring, security, sip-i, duckdb
Last editorial update8d ago1d ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is Asterisk?

Asterisk 24.0.0 is out, with 20, 22 and 23 getting their matching releases the same hour.

Asterisk closed its release round on November 5 with 24.0.0 final plus 23.6.0, 22.12.0 and 20.22.0, each resolving 32 to 37 issues across roughly 45 commits. The final tags followed four release candidates, the last of which repaired park slot hints and a presence-hint segfault left by 22.11.0. No security advisories were part of the round.

Read the full Asterisk trajectory →

What is HOMER?

HOMER 11 closes an open mTLS listener and stops dropping ISUP from SIP-I calls.

HOMER's 11.0 pre-releases keep pairing security fixes with SIP-I decoding. 11.0.384 makes HEP and HTTPS ingest with mutual TLS and no CA refuse to start, where before they accepted any client, and runs all-in-one node reads in the DuckDB sandbox. It also stops the Decode window from dropping the ISUP part of multipart SIP-I INVITEs. 11.0.382 and 11.0.381 had already required tokens for the live SIP stream and admin rights for alert changes.

Read the full HOMER trajectory →

Asterisk vs HOMER: editorial side-by-side

A
Asterisk
MEETINGS
5.0

Asterisk 24.0.0 is out, with 20, 22 and 23 getting their matching releases the same hour.

◆ Current state

Asterisk closed its release round on November 5 with 24.0.0 final plus 23.6.0, 22.12.0 and 20.22.0, each resolving 32 to 37 issues across roughly 45 commits. The final tags followed four release candidates, the last of which repaired park slot hints and a presence-hint segfault left by 22.11.0. No security advisories were part of the round.

◆ Where it's heading

The project ships every supported branch in lockstep, so fixes land everywhere at once and the version number mostly signals which line a deployment is on. With 24 now final, the next round should move 24 into the same maintenance rhythm as the older branches.

◆ Prediction

Expect 24.0.1 or 24.1.0 alongside matching 20, 22 and 23 point releases in the next cycle, likely starting with release candidates again; the entries do not show which branch will drop out of the round next.

H
HOMER
MEETINGS
5.0

HOMER 11 closes an open mTLS listener and stops dropping ISUP from SIP-I calls.

◆ Current state

HOMER's 11.0 pre-releases keep pairing security fixes with SIP-I decoding. 11.0.384 makes HEP and HTTPS ingest with mutual TLS and no CA refuse to start, where before they accepted any client, and runs all-in-one node reads in the DuckDB sandbox. It also stops the Decode window from dropping the ISUP part of multipart SIP-I INVITEs. 11.0.382 and 11.0.381 had already required tokens for the live SIP stream and admin rights for alert changes.

◆ Where it's heading

Three releases in a week closed access gaps, which suggests a security review of the 11.0 line before a stable release. Alongside it, the work on SIP-I and ISUP decoding points at carrier and telco users who bridge SS7 and SIP.

◆ Prediction

Expect more fail-closed defaults and sandboxing in the next 11.0 builds, and possibly a published advisory for the mTLS issue.

Alternatives to Asterisk and HOMER

Other Meetings products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Asterisk or HOMER.

See all Asterisk alternatives → · See all HOMER alternatives →

Recent activity from Asterisk and HOMER

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 2d agoHOMERHOMER 11.0.384 keeps SIP-I ISUP parts and fails closed on bad mTLS
  2. 5d agoHOMERHOMER 11.0.382 requires a token for the live SIP stream
  3. 6d agoHOMERHOMER 11.0.381 restricts subscription and alert changes to admins
  4. 8d agoHOMERHOMER 11.0.378 adds B2BUA legs to Session Info and IPv6 search
  5. 8d agoAsteriskAsterisk 24.0.0 final ships after four release candidates
  6. 8d agoAsteriskAsterisk 23.6.0: 35 fixes from the shared release round
  7. 8d agoAsteriskAsterisk 22.12.0 closes the 22.11 hint regressions
  8. 8d agoAsteriskAsterisk 20.22.0: 37 fixes on the oldest branch
  9. 8d agoHOMERHOMER 11.0.377 brings back tshark decoding of captured messages
  10. 8d agoHOMERHOMER 11.0.376 keeps SIP-I bodies intact and decodes ITU-T ISUP
  11. 15d agoAsteriskAsterisk 24.0.0-rc4: park hints and presence-hint crash fixed
  12. 15d agoAsteriskAsterisk 23.6.0-rc4: same two hint fixes

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Asterisk and HOMER?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Asterisk and HOMER are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is Asterisk better than HOMER?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Asterisk and HOMER are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Meetings products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to Asterisk?

Top Asterisk alternatives in Meetings are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Asterisk alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/asterisk for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to HOMER?

Top HOMER alternatives in Meetings are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "HOMER alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/homer-voip for the full list with editorial commentary on each.